Operation Teamwork - A new era for South African cricket

The General Council of the UCBSA today (Sunday 7 July 2002) endorsed proposals from a conference of 150 of South African cricket leaders in which they pledged to drive transformation forward as part of a sustainable new culture of delivery

Bronwyn Wilkinson

08-Jul-2002

The conference, which was held at Kieviets Kroon east of Pretoria over the weekend, emphasized that South African cricket had grown beyond its own expectations when targets for transformation were set three years ago. (see final TMC report summary below)

"That success has meant that we can now be confident that we can move from numbers-based transformation to one which is driven by ownership and a spirit of responsibility and teamwork," said UCBSA President Percy Sonn after the meeting. "Transformation will continue apace in cricket as we endeavour to take the game to everyone who wishes to play it and administer it in our country, but we now believe that cricket people are mature enough to take responsibility for that process," Sonn added.

The General Council endorsed a recommendation from the conference that transformation quotas be done away with at the level of national teams and senior provincial sides. Selection for these teams will now be based purely on merit.

"We have seen enough real change to be confident that these sides can be selected on merit and that we have enough real quality players of colour that their presence in these senior teams no longer needs to be dictated by a quota system," Sonn said.

At the level of Provincial B teams, and all teams below that level (eg. provincial school sides), quotas have been replaced by two guidelines:

All provincial B teams and teams below this level should contain at least 50% players of colour.

These teams should all contain at least one black African player. This is in recognition of the need to encourage the advancement of black African players into senior provincial and national teams.

Provinces will be expected to show their commitment to transformation in their player contracts and provincial Presidents will take responsibility for ensuring the forward drive of growth and transformation of the game in their provinces.

"Although a guideline is different from a quota in that it cannot be enforced, the UCB will continuously monitor the actions of the affiliates and encourage them to adhere to the principles of growth," said UCB CEO Gerald Majola. "This conference has shown that there is so much commitment to the process that we believe our provinces will act responsibly and in good faith. The onus is on the provincial presidents, who sit on the General Council, to ensure their provinces adhere to the guidelines," he added.

The General Council accepted a recommendation from the Transformation Monitoring Committee that the TMC and the Provincial Monitoring Committees be dismantled in recognition of the need to internalize transformation issues at the UCB and its affiliates. Percy Sonn thanked Professor Andre Odendaal and his committee for the contribution they had made to the game over the past three years in helping to bring South African cricket to the point where it could take bold steps into a new era. Odendaal has been charged now with recording the full history of South African cricket.

The Pledge

The conference delegates all signed a UCBSA flag indicating their commitment to the following Pledge:

As leaders of South African Cricket, we pledge to ...

Activate and demonstrate out commitment to unified teamwork - one team, one plan, one voice

Create a culture of delivery and winning at all levels - spirited playing and excellent administration

Plan for and achieve the sustainability of our organization - an inspiring image, community support and commercial viability

Operation Teamwork

The conference launched Operation Teamwork in recognition that the realities and challenges facing SA Cricket are constantly changing and evolving. We cannot claim to have arrived at our destiny, but rather we will remain dynamic and adaptive in our response to our changing reality. The delegates agreed:

"As the leaders of South African Cricket, we look back to our recent history with a sense of pride and humility, realizing that:

We have witness fundamental and far-reaching change, expressing the hopes and also fears of our people;

We have the privilege of leading a talented, dynamic and vibrant organization;

We are continuously participating in the creation of a legacy for cricket generations to come;

We need to unlock the full value of our human and material assets in order to be responsible custodians; and

We need to critically review and focus our leadership contribution, professionalise all our practices, and continue with the transformation of SA Cricket."

Other proposals to the Council from the conference included:

The UCB's committee-driven structure should be reviewed and be based upon professional excellence.

Domestic cricket should be restructured with an eye on cost reduction and strength vs strength competitions which would close the gap between provincial and international cricket. This will form part of a fundamental financial turnaround strategy.

The UCB and all its affiliates should officially adopt plans to portray a dynamic image of professionalism, discipline at all levels and consistent application of clear and common policies.

Education and mentoring programmes must be implemented to ensure players are aware of their responsibilities and public obligations, as well as given the skills to ensure they can fulfill those obligations.

Programmes will be designed and implemented to restore the image and profile of the national team to reflect pride, patriotism, professionalism, teamwork and a winning mindset.

Common management accounting reports are to be submitted by the affiliates on a monthly basis for monitoring purposes.

An emphasis on community cricket and a formal process of partnership between clubs and schools is to be implemented to ensure a sustainable base for cricket.

A common human resource development system (eg assessment, development, performance appraisal etc) is to be designed and implemented in all structures.

A clear policy framework is to be published for use by all Boards to ensure compliance with the principles of good Corporate Governance.

The TMC Report:

The sixth and final report of the Transformation Monitoring Committee was presented to the conference. The findings are as follows:

The targets which were set three years ago for 2002 were applied to every aspect of the game, from players to scorers, umpires, groundspeople, administrators and employees. At most levels except the elite first class and elite international playing level, these targets were set at 50/50 for the year (ie 50% people of colour in each sector). The TMC found that the UCB had made significant progress towards its goal of making cricket an equitable and inclusive game.

Looking at the overall statistics as well as the purposeful directions of a new UCB leadership it can be concluded that the UCB has internalized transformation during the past three years in which:

The base has continued to expand with increasing numbers of cricketers, especially black participants;

Youth tournaments and teams in many cases have comfortably surpassed the 50/50 situation;

Glass ceilings have finally been shattered at the top national playing and administration levels. From the CEO and Directors to the President and provincial presidents constituting Council to the selectors and sub-committees there has been a major demographic turnaround.

Also significant is the increase of around 200% in black players at the first class and international level (which is 50% over the targets, namely 66 players last season against a goal of 44).

South Africa